Boreal Owl
The Boreal Owl (or Asio Funereus) is a small owl with a length of around 25 centimeters. The Boreal Owl is also known as the Tengmalm's Owl, Sparrow Owl, and the Richardson's Owl. History and Trivia: The Boreal Owl was first classified by Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus in the year of 1758. The Latin word "funereus" ''comes from the word "funeral". In North America the Richardson's Owl is directly known as the Boreal Owl from the Greek god ''Boreas, god of the north wind. Description: The color of Boreal Owls varies slightly with the individual bird, some being a reddish-brown hue and some being a grayish hue. The eyes on a Boreal Owl are bright yellow and large for its head. It has white facial disks with black feathers surrounding them with small, numerous white spots. There is a small portion of black feathers around the bill and below the eyes. Wings are dark brown with bold white spots. The feathers around the breast are white with dark streaks. The owl's length ranges from 20-30 centimeters, and the wingspan of females are 16.4-18.5 centimeters, males: 15.8-17.8. The weight of female Boreal Owls ranges from 4-7 ounces, while males range from 3-4. Call: The Boreal Owl has many different calls. The most frequent call is the male's territorial call, which is a series of "Poop!" notes with a 3-4 second break, followed by more series, each with a small break. When the female comes over to the calling male, the call becomes more stuttering, like he is nervous in impressing her. When contacting a breeding female, the male will emit low "wood!" or "wood-whoohd!" noises. To show aggression, the male will make a whip-like "zjuck!" sound. An aggressive female may emit a sharp "jack", a hoarse "oohwack!", or a croaking "kraihk!" or "kwahk!". When the male is contacting a female with "wood!", the female will respond with a very high pitched "see!". Her contact call is a hoarse "zhuid!". Habits and Hunting: The Boreal Owl is a nocturnal owl with an unsociable attitude. Adult males are very territorial, even when the territory is small. Males will sing extremely intensively if they don't have a mate or if they haven't mated. Boreal Owls fly with soft, noiseless wingbeats in a relatively straight line. Boreal Owls mainly perch on low branches to hunt. It will scan the ground by moving its head side to side, trying to hear the movement of potential prey. When the victim is located, the owl will swoop quickly from its branch and grab the prey. Potential prey is generally small rodents, especially voles. They also will eat lemmings, moles, shrews, and mice. They will occasionally take small birds, squirrels, bats, beetles, and frogs. Breeding: The Boreal Owl usually nests in old woodpecker cavities, but it will also take natural cavities along with artificial nest boxes. Males will start their search for nest holes in late winter. Dead prey is often thrown into the nest hole, and when the male does so, he perches on a branch and sings. If an female gets interested, the male will fly over to the cavity and start trilling and stuttering as a beckon for her to come over. She will then inspect the hole, and if she likes it she will stay. If not, she won't stay. As a gift for her stay, the male brings her food. They then mate, and several days later she lays 3-8 white eggs, seperated by a full day. Incubation commences on the first or second egg. The female does all of the incubation while the male hunts and brings food. The incubation typically lasts 28-29 days. The chicks hatch a day apart, and their eyes open around their 10th day. They will leave the nest at around 30 days, and will be looked after by their parents for 4-6 weeks. They are mature at 9 months. The Boreal Owl is usually single-brooded, but it will sometimes try to produce 2. The Boreal Owls' breeding success is relatively high. Unlike most owls, pair bonding is only seasonal. Mortality: The Boreal Owl can live for at least 8 years. Sadly, incubating females are occasionally killed by pine martens, leaving the eggs unprotected. They are also preyed upon by large raptors. Habitat: Habitats for the Boreal Owl vary with the region but the prime habitat is mainly old-growth forests with potential nesting areas. They inhabit a large range of forests from pure coniferous to pure deciduous forests. Southern populations of Boreal Owls tend to occur in high subalpine forests. The Boreal Owls' hunting habitat includes open forests and forest meadows. When roosting they require dense conifers where they roost 16-20 feet up. The Boreal Owl lives in Alaska, Northern Canada (except the high parts of Nunavut), Oregon, New Mexico, parts of Europe, and parts of Asia. (Reference: The Owl Pages)